SIMMBA: Alpha-male Ranveer Singh’s towering screen presence, comic timing and action Jackson avatar make SIMMBA look real and believable. Ranveer’s coming home to Deepiku these days who can safely croon “MERA BALMA HAIN TIGER, GOLI MARE JAISE SNIPER YES!!!
Ranveer is over-the-top in the first few scenes with prominent mannerisms of Akshay Kumar-the movie has shades of Dabbang and other 80’s cop movies. The SIMMBA theme song incorporating Maratha war tunes and the sculpture of Chattrapati Shivaji right in the beginning and frequent use of Marathi words set the tone of the Bollywood action drama which bears a Maharashtrian slant although the movie. There are no burning or overturning cars but there are very ably bodied cops who move in slow-mo and engage in fist fights and good old decibel matches to drive home their point. Just like a 80’s potboiler the sistah has to get raped and knocked down unconscious and eventually die in order to instil the sense of duty in SIMMBA. The second half is sloppy and predictable but it is commendable how Bollywood has come of age and happily collaborates and comes together to breathe life into a new project. The famous Aankh Marey song has Arshad Warsi gamely matching steps with Ranveer and Sara and the Golmaal team also happily chips in with a blink-and-you-miss appearance for a Rohit Shetty project. The original song sang by Mika Singh has the cover version sang by Kumar Shanu. Set in Miramar beach in Goa, this movie is a typical Rohit Shetty movie with a noteworthy display of brawn where heroes swagger and thump their chests and tote guns at the drop of a hat. The female characters are demure and acts on cues from their male counterparts. The introduction of Singham proves that even the best projects need empathetic supervisors. The climax depicts the rise of the true blue desi Tom Cruise Akki jaan as Veer Suryavanshi who is entrusted with the task of carrying the mantle of SIMMBA forward. Sara Ali Khan gives a spirited performance as a working class girl jettisoning her Nawabi adaas and looks like a cross between Amrita Singh and Soha Ali Khan. Bollywood’s obsession with rape, cops, drugs and nautch girls is legendary and this movie does not deviate from the well-tried and tested formula but the smart and sassy treatment and the one-upmanship of Ranveer Singh get the movie the kudos from the movie goers and probably these would bring in the seeti-marao repeat audience. Thank you Rohit Shetty for the elevating experience. AATA MAJHI SATAKLI Notwithstanding!!!
AninditaRoyMusings 